The invention pertains to a flexible knee brace or support for athletes to prevent injury to the knee and to protect preexistent injury from aggravation. Potential injury to the knee includes sprain or damage occassioned by lateral movement, rotary movement and hyperextension as well as dislocation. In the prior art, elastic knee pads are in use which provide an elastic sleeve with a padded front portion. These devices offer minimal support and serve primarily to protect the knee in case of a fall. Elastic bandages are sometimes wrapped around the knee joint. These do not give the desired amount of support to the knee and may unduly inhibit flexure of the knee joint particularly by bunching at the back of the knee joint.
The present invention relates to a flexible knee brace for use by athletes or others requiring knee support. The knee brace offers generalized support to the knee joint in addition to specifically providing lateral support to inhibit lateral and rotary movement of the knee, and support for the kneecap to prevent hyperextension and dislocation. The knee brace includes a base comprised as a tubular sleeve of elastic material configured to closely fit around the knee joint and adjacent upper and lower leg portions. A plurality of generally upright forwardly curved lateral pockets are provided on the medial and distal sides of the base. Resilient elongate stays are located in the pockets to provide lateral support. Cross straps are provided, each having a fixed end secured to one side of the base and a free end extendable around the front of the leg in straddling relationship to the kneecap, to the other side of the base. Releasable means fix the free end of each of the cross straps to the rear side of the base opposite to the fixed end. The sleeve has a rear opening in the vicinity of flexure of the knee to permit comfortable bending of the knee. The opening can be covered by a flexible mesh material.